Organised jointly by the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI), the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), in Russia and the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) in Germany, the Arctic Century Expedition is a multidisciplinary expedition that studied rarely accessible and remote areas in the Kara and Laptev Sea as well as on Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya in the western Arctic.

The scientific programme focused on diverse and important aspects of the atmosphere, cryosphere, marine and terrestrial environment in a rapidly changing Arctic climate. Exciting projects were carried out by an international team of researchers who aim at understanding the sensitive Arctic environmental system.

The expedition left Murmansk on 5 August 2021, onboard the research icebreaker Akademik Tryoshnikov and already after a transit of three days the station work started in the Kara Sea. Thereafter a comprehensive terrestrial and glaciological working program took place in Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya. The marine working program focused on key areas in the Saint Anna Trough, the Kara Sea continental margin and in the central Kara Sea. The expedition returned to Murmansk on 6 September 2021. For a glimpse of the scientific work done by the researchers, we invite you to read the expedition blog.

Please find here the press release for the return of the expedition.